Not sure how I stand with my letter of recommendation for my committee letter

[LuluLovesMe]

Since graduating almost 2 years ago, I've been working at a hospital as a research coordinator. I got a negative first annual review from my boss which I honestly can say that I deserved. I was late for work too often and my boss commented that I didn't seem to put enough effort into my work.

Since then, I've improved. I haven't been late once and I've been taking on more responsibilities. I still have reservations about asking for a letter of recommendation though. Since this has been my main activity since graduating, I know med schools will be expecting a letter from my work. I asked my boss if she would be comfortable writing a letter of recommendation for me and she said yes. As far as I know, she is not a malicious person but it still makes me nervous.

Is there any way I can have a conversation with my boss to get a sense of what my letter will be like? Or should I not include this letter after all? Or should I wait till my premed adviser reads it and get her feedback?

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[cactus8910]

Talk to your boss. Ask if she will be able to write you a STRONG letter of recommendation, given your rough start. Hopefully she'll be honest with you. Has she commented on your improvement since that annual review, or is that just your own view of yourself? If she hasn't indicated an improved opinion of you, I wouldn't risk it.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

She has not. But she has become friendlier with me. How would I talk to her about it without making her feel that I don't trust her? She already agreed to write me a letter.

Won't med schools be expecting a letter from my job no matter what?

 

[Doug Underhill]

The general rules about LORs seem to require two science professors and someone other than a science professor. Maybe use a volunteer coordinator or something for the third letter?

 

[LuluLovesMe]

The general rules about LORs seem to require two science professors and someone other than a science professor. Maybe use a volunteer coordinator or something for the third letter?

I could. I have strong letters from elsewhere. I was just thinking that maybe med schools would be expecting a letter from my work. I also feel like if I don't get a letter from my work, I would have wasted 2 years of effort.

 

[cactus8910]

I could. I have strong letters from elsewhere. I was just thinking that maybe med schools would be expecting a letter from my work. I also feel like if I don't get a letter from my work, I would have wasted 2 years of effort.

They might be expecting it, but it's not a requirement. It would certainly be worse to have a bad letter than no letter at all.
You haven't really been working for 2 years just for a LOR, right? If that was the whole point, you really should've put in some more effort the first year. Hopefully you've gained something meaningful from the experience. In any case, even without the LOR, you can write about it on your application and talk about it in interviews.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

They might be expecting it, but it's not a requirement. It would certainly be worse to have a bad letter than no letter at all.
You haven't really been working for 2 years just for a LOR, right? If that was the whole point, you really should've put in some more effort the first year. Hopefully you've gained something meaningful from the experience. In any case, even without the LOR, you can write about it on your application and talk about it in interviews.

I just don't know what would constitute a bad letter. Given my history with my boss is it even possible for her to write me a positive letter?

 

[gooeyzoe]

I've been in your shoes. I worked as a volunteer in a bench research position during college. One of the postdocs and I really did not get along which really dampened my enthusiasm for working in the lab. As such, my productivity wasn't much and my PI totally called me out on it. After that, I worked REALLY hard for a semester to make up for my poor start. I still asked my PI for a letter in the end and it worked out fine.

I think it would depends on how long ago your annual review was. How often do you interact with your PI?
I don't think PIs are normally malicious people, especially if they are doctors themselves.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

I've been in your shoes. I worked as a volunteer in a bench research position during college. One of the postdocs and I really did not get along which really dampened my enthusiasm for working in the lab. As such, my productivity wasn't much and my PI totally called me out on it. After that, I worked REALLY hard for a semester to make up for my poor start. I still asked my PI for a letter in the end and it worked out fine.

I think it would depends on how long ago your annual review was. How often do you interact with your PI?
I don't think PIs are normally malicious people, especially if they are doctors themselves.

She is actually my project manager. I don't get to see my PI often since he is traveling all the time. The review was 5 months ago. She is actually a genuinely kind person, so she wouldn't intentionally harm my chances. I am just afraid that some mention of issues we have had in the past would reflect really negatively on me even though she might not mean to.